ABSC Competition

EuroSport to broadcast live Snooker in Australia

ABSC | News | by Alex Render

Many of snooker’s biggest tournaments will be televised live by Eurosport in Australia for the first time this season.

EurosportFans throughout Australia will be able to watch huge events including the World Championship, UK Championship, the Masters and the Home Nations series. Coverage will start with next week’s Shanghai Masters (September 10-16).

Eurosport already broadcasts snooker to 137 million homes in 54 countries and will now grow its reach by televising the sport in Australia. World Snooker has a long term partnership with Eurosport which runs until 2026.

World Snooker Chairman Barry Hearn said: "This is fantastic news for fans in Australia, who have been asking us for years for live coverage of our biggest tournaments. We know there is demand in the region and we hope that regular broadcast of snooker will help our sport grow in Australia.

“Eurosport has been one of our key partners over the past 15 years in terms of developing our sport across the planet and growing our global footprint. Every move into another territory is a step forward. I look forward to seeing strong viewing figures from Australia.”

Former World Champion Neil Robertson, Australia’s best ever player, said: “Over the years I have had so many fans, friends and family asking me when they can watch live snooker in Australia. Now we have the answer! And all of the big events will be covered on Eurosport. I’m delighted and I really hope this will help snooker to grow Down Under because kids need to see the sport on TV before they want to give it a go. We have a lot of sports to compete with in Australia but I would love to see snooker become more popular. I’ll be trying to win more big tournaments this season to give the fans back home something to cheer.”

Jonathan Rudd, Vice President Factual and Sports Products, Discovery Australia, New Zealand & Pacific Islands, added: "We’re proud to be working with World Snooker and IMG to deliver Australian audiences live coverage of the biggest snooker tournaments. This deal strengthens our offering in market, with snooker to be positioned as one of the channel’s key sports alongside cycling, athletics and winter sports.

“We know that snooker has a passionate and dedicated fanbase here in Australia, so I’m sure they’ll be thrilled with the news that they now won’t miss a minute of the action from key events around the world.”

The full list of tournaments to be covered by Eurosport in Australia during the 2018/19 season is:

Shanghai Masters

September 10-16, 2018

China Championship

September 24-30, 2018

D88.com European Masters

October 1-7, 2018

English Open

October 15-21, 2018

International Championship

October 28 to November 4, 2018

Northern Ireland Open

November 12-18, 2018

Betway UK Championship

November 27 to December 9, 2018

Scottish Open

December 10-16, 2018

Dafabet Masters

January 13-20, 2019

D88.com German Masters

January 30 February 3, 2019

Ladbrokes World Grand Prix

February 4-10, 2019

ManBetX Welsh Open

February 11-17, 2019

Ladbrokes Players Championship

March 4-10, 2019

Gibraltar Open

March 15-17, 2019

China Open

April 1-7, 2019

Betfred World Championship

April 20 to May 6, 2019

WSF Meeting in Thailand

ABSC | News | by Alex Render

The World Snooker Federation (WSF) held its latest board meeting in Bangkok, Thailand on the 4th of September during the staging of the 2018 SangSom 6-Red World Championship.

For many years Thailand has played host to meetings involving international federations from across the globe. This year’s meetings were held as part of the ongoing sports development plans by the WSF and WPBSA.

Topics discussed at the meeting included the future strategy of the WSF, multi-sport games and the support of the bid for cue sports to be included as part of the programme at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

On the 5th of September the WSF board were joined by its regional and continental members. The European Billiards and Snooker Association (EBSA) was represented by John Terry, the Pan American Billiards and Snooker Association (PABSA) was represented by President Ajeya Prabhakar and the Oceania Billiards and Snooker Federation (OBSF) by President Frank Dewens. The Billiards and Snooker Association of Thailand (BSAT) were also respectfully invited as observers.

87th Annual General Meeting of the Australian Billiards & Snooker Council

We have posted the PDF giving notice of the 87th Annual General Meeting of the Australian Billiards & Snooker Council that will take place on Saturday, 20th October, 2018 commencing at 10am at Mounties Club, 101 Meadows Road, Mt. Pritchard, NSW.

The Committee will be appointing two delegates to attend on the Association’s behalf. Each of the Association’s Members are Ordinary Members of the ABSC and are entitled to attend the AGM.

The format that the AGM will take is explained in detail.

Could you please let the Committee know if you plan to attend and would be willing to be a delegate for the BSASA.

For your information we have also included the draft Minutes from the last AGM.

Players Advocate Executive Positions

September 04, 2018

The Executive Committee of the ABSC is in the final stages of redrawing the existing ABSC Constitution. The New Constitution will be sent to the Affiliated Members shortly ahead of its formal acceptance at the next AGM in October this year.

As part of the Executive's ongoing commitment to the improvement, one of the important changes that will be implemented in the New Constitution is the introduction of "Appointed Executive Members" which will comprise two Players' Advocates on the Executive Committee to be elected by the Ordinary Members and the election (as opposed to appointment) of a Women's Delegate on the Executive Committee.

The three elected positions are all "full executive committee" positions with the successful candidates being actively involved in the Executive Committee and entitled to propose motions, vote etc etc. An overview of the role and responsibilities for the Appointed Executive Members is provided with this announcement.